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A Royal J-Oak as Manics
are left Wandering?!

Steve Dennaford

Ben Taylor

Ben Westwood (C)

Brian Judge

Joel Curran

Harry Clowse

Gary Sarney

Lee Blackman

David Comper

Chris Wilson

Colin Pike

Bench:
Andy Robinson

Their
4th game in 3 months, Manics Reserves faced Royal Oak Wanderers
on this chilly, blustery January morning. Chris Adams and powerhouse
Henry Abrahamian were a few of the notable absentees. That said,
the pitch was in good condition, spirits were up and Manics
started brightly, attacking with purpose. The Oak fought back
well, holding The Manics off and creating a chance of their
own.

The 15th
minute however, saw The Manics slip up a gear. After some fantastic
interplay, the ball came to Harry Clowse on the right wing.
His cut back found the bendy David Comper
at the back post who duly guided his shot into the bottom left
hand corner of the net to make it 1-0. Manics were in dangerous
mood, scoring a goal of such quality instilled confidence and
assurance into the side.

Within
2 minutes came a setback – An Oak goal - Their forward
coolly finishing after a lapse in the Manics defence. The goal
however did not phase Manic names in the slightest. They played
some of the best football they had played all season and it
was no surprise when in the 32nd minute after another clever
passing move, Manics took a deserved 2-1 lead, David Comper
supplying an inch perfect pass for Chris
Wilson to slot home.

Manics
were in the driving seat and continued their onslaught. Another
pass from Comper and a sneaky dummy from Wilson saw Lee Blackman
whistle a shot over the bar. Manics kept up the pressure without
scoring as the half-time whistle sounded.

Royal Oak
kicked off the second half going downhill with the wind behind
them instantly launching the long ball over the top. Manics
stood firm and continued where they left off in the first half
by creating chances of their own but in the 56th minute some
calamitous defending allowed The Oak to snatch an equaliser
and level the score at 2-2.

This gift
of a goal was again brushed aside by a resilient Manics who
stamped their authority on the game 10 minutes later by scoring
again in style. This time, Colin Pike
finished off the move from David Compers pass. Oak heads dropped
and Manics passion grew.

Then came
5 minutes of madness. With Manics firmly in control and 70 minutes
on the clock, an Oak striker began puking on the edge of the
area. The referee paused the game and Brian ‘The Judge’
Judge and the ever caring Joel Curran went to the assistance
of the ailing forward. Ben Taylor grabbed a drink and Ben Westwood
chatted with a recently returned Gary Sarney. The sun was shining,
birds twittered and Wilson enjoyed surveying a lovely Sunday
morning scene.

The sound
of a ball being kicked turned Manic heads and then shock-horror
set in. Wide eyed Cries of “What the?!” rang out
as The Oak forward shot the ball into the net?! What was going
on cried Wilson as Sarney and others bellowed in disgust. An
unfortunate Steve Dennaford had decided to take the goal-kick
without any of his team-mates watching resulting in another
leveller.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, from the resulting
kick off, Oak immediately nicked the ball, broke into the area
and won a penalty! True Manic, Brian Judge the guilty party,
but was it a dive? Judge thought so and voiced his opinions
dramatically!

The referee
had been sold and Oak converted leaving Manics stunned. Their
hard fought lead had been taken from under their noses in the
space of 1 minute and they found themselves 4-3 down?!

Despite
this drama, Manics continued to play spirited football but The
Oak nicked a fifth five minutes later, a long ball over the
top and defensive indecisiveness to blame.

5-3 down
and ten minutes to go Manics could have easily scored 3 or 4,
sublime teamwork creating chances galore. When the final whistle
blew, Manics were left scratching their heads in wonder at how
they had just lost a game which they had totally controlled.

The question
is now, can The Manics still win the league? They will need
a miracle to do so…